2008 Sooners had what it takes on road. What about now?
Published: 9/23/2010 9:55 AM
Last Modified: 9/23/2010 10:01 AM
Went back to the last Oklahoma-Cincinnati game two years ago, looking for clues. Instead, everyone kept talking about the following week's game at Washington.
It sounded an awful lot like this week's game at Cincy.
Sam Bradford then: "It's something we talked about all summer. It's been a major emphasis for us."
Ryan Broyles now: "Oh yeah, that's definitely one of the things we marked on our schedule. We want to win all our away games."
Bradford then: "This is our first opportunity to come out and kind of redeem ourselves for the way we played on the road last year."
Landry Jones now: "Last year, we struggled on the road, so we do have a little something to prove."
Bradford then: "I think we kind of had a lack of energy to start those games with, and that's something we know we can't do."
Broyles now: "It's not like we're at home. We don't have the same adrenaline, so we have to build adrenaline from getting off the bus and going into the locker room… We have to bring our own energy."
Bob Stoops on Bradford pressure then: "I think too much is on one guy. He's not going to do well on the road without everybody helping him. If our O-line isn't physical and we're not able to create any seams running the football, that's an advantage for the defense. If we don't protect him and he doesn't have the time he needs, or if receivers can't separate and get open... There's a lot to it other than just him."
Stoops on Jones pressure now: "It's the support system around him. If guys around him don't play great, drop balls, don't protect him, no run game… I think it's fair to say our offensive production overall was different (on the road in '09), not just Landry. One guy isn't going to get it done by himself."
Whatever the reasons for the Sooners' 2007 road problems – they fell at Colorado and Texas Tech and struggled to win at Iowa State – they came back with a vengeance in '08. OU won big at Washington, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State as sophomore Bradford emerged.
Now, the Sooners must answer for their '09 road woes. Jones is a sophomore supposedly in better position to steady himself and his offense at Cincinnati, Missouri, A&M, Baylor and OSU.
That's a tough test. It will be interesting to see if Jones and the Sooners have what it takes to ace it like Bradford and the '08 team did.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
